''Panulirus longipes'', the longlegged spiny lobster, is a species of

spiny lobster Spiny lobsters, also known as langustas, langouste, or rock lobsters, are a family (Palinuridae) of about 60 species of achelate crustaceans, in the Decapoda Reptantia. Spiny lobsters are also, especially in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, So ...

that lives on shallow rocky and coral reefs in the tropical Indo-Pacific region. The

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of nat ...

has assessed its conservation status as being of "

least concern A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. T ...

Description

''Panulirus longipes'' grows to a maximum length of about , but a more normal adult size is with a carapace length of up to . The general colour is dark brown or bluish-brown and there are numerous circular white spots on the abdomen and rather fewer spots on other parts of the body. The legs have pale longitudinal stripes and sometimes a single white spot near the tip.

Distribution and habitat

''Panulirus longipes'' is native to the tropical and subtropical Indo-Pacific region. Its range extends from Madagascar and the east coast of Africa to Malaysia, Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and northern Australia. It is found on rocky and coral reefs, usually at depths less than about , but exceptionally as deep as . There are two subspecies; ''P. l. longipes'' is known from East Africa to Thailand, Taiwan, the Philippines and Indonesia, while ''P. l. bispinosus'' is known from Japan, Micronesia, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Fiji, Tonga, the Cook Islands, New Caledonia and the east coast of Australia.

Biology

''Panulirus longipes'' is nocturnal and hides in rock crevices and under boulders during the day. It feeds on

molluscs Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is estim ...

and other bottom-dwelling

invertebrate Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate ...

s and defends itself by producing audible sounds whose characteristics have been analysed by Meyer-Rochow & Penrose in 1977. Females carry a large clutch of small eggs tucked under their abdomen for several months. When the eggs hatch, the larvae are

plankton Plankton are the diverse collection of organisms found in water (or air) that are unable to propel themselves against a current (or wind). The individual organisms constituting plankton are called plankters. In the ocean, they provide a crucia ...

ic for about ten months before undergoing metamorphosis into puerulus larvae, which settle on the seabed. Juveniles are not gregarious at first and are generally found in shallower water than adults. They are slow-growing and reach a carapace length of about in eighteen months. The animals first breed at around five years of age.

Status

This spiny lobster is caught throughout most of its range for human consumption. The fisheries are mostly small in scale with the methods used including lobster pots, spear-fishing, tangle-nets and traps. There are no population figures available but it is likely that it is being

overfished Overfishing is the removal of a species of fish (i.e. fishing) from a body of water at a rate greater than that the species can replenish its population naturally (i.e. the overexploitation of the fishery's existing fish stock), resulting in t ...

in parts of its range. However, it has a very wide range and is common in much of that range, so the

has listed its conservation status as being of "

References

External links

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3D model
at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History {{Taxonbar, from=Q6494136 Achelata Crustaceans of the Indian Ocean Crustaceans of the Pacific Ocean Edible crustaceans Crustaceans described in 1868 Taxa named by Alphonse Milne-Edwards